JP2609508B2 - Venetian blinds - Google Patents

Abstract

Headrail hardware to lift and tilt a Venetian blind is provided. A single control (5) operates both the lift and the tilt function. A multiturn band brake tilter (19) is used with each ladder cord (15) in a way that reduces the frictional forces encountered in lifting or lowering the blind. One end of each of the ladder cords is attached to an arm (21) of its tilter. The tilters are disposed directly about the rotating drive rod (11) with no intermediate parts, and are supported by cradles (17) that mount in the headrail rather than by the drive rod (11) as in prior art blinds. The drive rod (11) rotates the tilters (19) and the lifting mechanism until the tilters (19) contact stops built into each of the cradles (17). Further rotation keeps the blind fully tilted while lifting or lowering of the blind continues. In the preferred embodiment, the lift cords (13) are attached to the drive rod (11), which traverses to accumulate the cords (13) in a single layer as the rod (11) is rotated to lift the blind. The rotation of the rod (11) within the tilters (19) greatly reduces the lateral force needed to traverse the rod (11). An innovative bearing support (41) is provided so that the weight of the blind is transferred from the tilter (19) directly to the cradle (17), further reducing the frictional drag on the traversing rod (11).

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART The present invention relates to Venetian blinds, and in particular to a single slat or blind using the same operating controls for both controlling the inclination of the platelets as well as raising and lowering the blinds. It is related to one control Venetian blind.

The Venetian blind headrails allow the slats to be controlled firstly to raise and lower the blinds, ie to raise and lower, and secondly to open and close the blinds or to set the slats to a desired angle. Two operations must be provided: tilting. An ideal single control head rail mechanism would require low operating effort, even when lifting heavy and long blinds. It would provide for accumulating lift codes or tape in a relatively small headrail. It will have a tilting mechanism that can provide good closure. And finally,
It houses the smallest parts, is easy to assemble, and will require minimal adjustment.

The prior art contains several designs for single control venetian blinds. Some of them do not tilt sufficiently to provide good closure. Many of them use many complex parts and are difficult to adjust.

The prior art discloses two general methods for accumulating lift codes or tapes in the head rail of a Venetian blind. One method is to wind a lift cord or tape on a spool. This method suffers from two disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the cord or tape is not evenly wound on each spool,
Very little difference in diameter is that when raising the blind, it creates an easily noticeable non-uniformity in the blind. Another disadvantage is that as the accumulated cord or tape diameter increases on the spool, the mechanical advantage of the lifting or lifting mechanism decreases. This gradual decrease in mechanical strength occurs because the lift cord supports more than the weight of the blind, greatly increasing the effort required to raise the blind further.
The mechanical advantage diminishes when it should just increase.

On the other hand, a preferred method is to accumulate the cord on a laterally moving or traversing shaft, so that the lift cord wraps around the shaft in a single layer. This method ensures uniform winding of each lift cord and maintains certain mechanical advantages, so the lifting effort only increases in proportion to the weight supported by the lift cord. . Several methods have been used to produce rods or rod traversals. Rack and gear arrangements have been used. U.S. Patent No.
No. 1,343,527 discloses a lead screw and nut for traversing. Another method, without gears or lead screws, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,012, where the lift cord is
Acts on the cams of the cradle supporting them, creating a lateral force to traverse the rod. This method is currently used for various blinds that lift from below, but it is not believed that this method works on Venetian blinds because the weight of the blinds hanging on the incline is increased. It adds a lot of frictional resistance and therefore it is expected that the rod will not legitimately traverse.

The headrail mechanism must also provide for tilting the slats or platelets of the Venetian blind. In a single control blind using a traversing rod for accumulating lift codes, the tilt mechanism must rotate in either direction with the traversing rod until it reaches a position for full closure. Accordingly, the tilt mechanism must slip and maintain its position while the blind is raised or lowered. In a traversing rod single control Venetian blind, the drive shaft for the tilting mechanism is a traversing rod. A ladder cord is attached to the tilt mechanism. In general, in a single control blind, there is one tilt mechanism for each ladder code in the blind. The best tilting occurs if the ladder cord is mounted on the tilter at a spaced position equal to the width of the slat. In addition, the line between these attachment points should pass through the centerline of the traversing rod. This keeps the tilter at the same angle as the slats or platelets. If this geometric relationship is not maintained, then it may be necessary for the tilting mechanism to be able to lift the blind if complete closure is to be achieved.

In a Venetian blind having separate lift and tilt mechanisms, there is no difficulty in providing a tilt mechanism that can lift the weight of the entire blind. However, in a single control blind of a traversing rod,
The traversing rod must drive both the tilt and lift mechanisms. When the fully tilted position is reached, the tilt mechanism slips partially off and then enough to maintain full tilt as the rod continues to rotate to raise or lower the blinds High torque must be provided. Any force required to maintain perfect tilt adds to the effort required to raise the blind. This force is such that (a) if the tilter arrangement is as described above, and (b) the traversing rod such that the tilter mechanism provides only that amount of torque needed to maintain full tilt. If it could adjust its grip up, it would be minimal. Furthermore, the smaller the separation of the ladder cords on the two sides at full inclination, the better the closure. This last requirement will be best satisfied if the tilter is mounted directly on the traversing rod. Any intermediate parts between the tilter and the rod will increase the separation of the ladder cord at full tilt. U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,630 discloses a tilter mechanism which has good gripping torque between the extremes of the tilt, while partially releasing the grip when full tilt is achieved. The tilter is made in the form of a multi-turn helical band clutch that grabs the traversing rod during tilting. When the position for full tilt is reached, the front end of the tilter contacts a stop that prevents further movement of the tilter, partially releasing the grip of the tilter on the rod, thereby causing the tilt on the rod The frictional resistance of the vessel is limited to just the amount of torque required to maintain the blind in a fully tilted state. The rod can continue to rotate and, depending on the direction in which the rod is rotating, winds or unwinds the lift cord to raise or lower the blind.

U.S. Pat.Nos. 2,737,235, 2,758,644 and 3,352,
No. 349 describes a prior art single control venetian blind using various traversing rod lift mechanisms. In order to achieve traversal in each of these conventional blinds, it is necessary to overcome all of the frictional forces due to the weight of the blind acting on the traversing rod. The grip of the tilt mechanism on the traversing rod must be sufficient to ensure complete closure. And, of course, both the tilting force and the frictional resistance on the rod must be overcome to cause the rod to traverse. These friction forces are large enough to make operating these blinds very difficult. Therefore, it is not surprising that Venetian blinds using this type of mechanism were by no means popular.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A desirable feature of the spiral band tilter of U.S. Pat.No. 4,696,630 is a single control for accumulating lift codes within the headrail in combination with a traversing rod system according to U.S. Pat. To create a Venetian blind with the following operations. This combination was tried and found to be unsatisfactory. This is because the tilter imposes a high frictional resistance on the traversing rod, so that the traversing rod does not traverse reliably. The present invention seeks to provide a novel bearing arrangement that eliminates much of this frictional resistance. In a preferred embodiment, the band clutch of U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,630 is modified so that the inclinator is directly supported by a cradle rather than by a traversing rod. This greatly reduces the frictional force on the traversing rod and improves operational reliability. The blind has good closeability and is easy to move up and down. The blind has a small number of parts,
And it is easy to assemble and adjust. The combination of the present invention has the advantages of both tilting and lifting mechanisms without the problem of sliding the rod against the high frictional forces seen in prior art blinds.

The use of spiral wound band clutch tilters is significant. Because among the various known methods for driving a tilter in a single control blind, only the frictional force between the tilter and the traversing rod is needed to maintain a sufficient tilt. Because it can provide greater friction when needed during tilting while controlling to a minimum amount. Another method of using a given frictional connection between the rod and the tilter is due to the variability of the frictional force,
Extra friction must be provided to ensure a good closure of the blind. This extra force undesirably adds to the effort to operate the blind. U.S. Patent No. 3,
No. 352,349 discloses a single control Venetian blind using a traversing rod and a tilter that frictionally grips the traversing rod. The lift cord carrier 15 is “arranged in a slightly clamping manner” on the operating shaft 2. However, experience has shown that during tilting, the tilter must grip the operating shaft firmly to provide a good closure of the blinds, and the friction from this firm grip, A greater force needs to be exerted on the traversing mechanism to slide the shaft.

In a fully extended Venetian blind,
The ladder cord supports the entire weight. As the blinds are raised, the weight is transferred to the lift cord. When the blinds are fully raised, the slat bundle or the bundle of blind platelets and the entire weight of the bottom rail is substantially supported by the lift cord. The ladder cord is attached to the incline, so whatever supports the incline must also support the weight of the extended portion of the blind. The vertical force between the tilters and their supports, as well as the resulting friction, is
Traversing can be difficult when the blind approaches a fully extended state. At that time, the tilter is supporting most of the weight and producing maximum friction, and the lift cord tension required to produce traversing motion is at its minimum.

It is surprising that it is possible to produce a sufficient tilt drive without the burden on the traversing mechanism, even in the case of large frictions that cannot traverse. The reason why this is possible can be understood as follows. The force required to produce a relative movement between two frictionally coupled objects is greater when only that force is active, and when another force is also performing the movement. Greater than it is, even if the movement is in a different direction.
For example, referring to FIG. 1, the force F1 required to slide an object of weight W across a horizontal surface is equal to uW, where u is the coefficient of friction between the object and the surface. . However, if the object is moving under the action of two perpendicular forces F1 and F2, then equal to uW is the vector sum of F1 and F2, as shown in FIG. Where A is the angle between F2 and the actual direction of motion.
In this situation, both F1 and F2 are smaller than uW,
And if angle A is small, F1 is much smaller than uW.

In the present case, F2 corresponds to the force that rotates the rod or rod, which forces the rod to slip in the tilter, and F1 is the force required to traverse the rod. It corresponds to. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a 0.375 "diameter rod and a 0.040" diameter lift cord were used. Since the rod rotates one complete revolution while traversing a distance equal to the thickness of the cord, the surface motion in the direction of rotation is about 30 times that in the traverse direction, which means that the angle A Let it be small, somewhat less than twice. In this case, the force F2 that produces the rotational movement does most of the work on friction, and F1 is only about 3% of the value that would have to produce a traversing movement in the absence of F2. In blinds having an intermediate piece between the tilter and the drum, a sufficient amount of work must be performed at the intermediate plane, both between the tilter and the drum, and between the drum and the rod. This significantly increases the effort required to operate the blind, since the entire amount of work must be provided by the blind operator.

In very long blinds using the inclinator of U.S. Pat.No. 4,697,630, it is necessary to add weight to the bottom rail to ensure that the traversing rod returns fully to its starting position It turned out to be.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, significant improvements have been achieved by modifying the tilter and cradle so that the tilter is supported directly by the bearing surface on the cradle rather than by the traversing rod. The improved performance comes from a reduction in the formal force between the rod and the tilter. This greatly reduces the force required to traverse the rod. In earlier systems, just as the useful force to cause traversal decreased, the force required to cause traverse increased. In this preferred embodiment, the useful force to create traversal as the blind is lowered is still reduced, while the frictional forces that hinder the traversal movement of the rod remain constant and small.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a single control lift and tilt mechanism for Venetian blinds that requires minimal effort in operation while maintaining certain mechanical advantages during the lifting operation. is there.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a single control lift and tilt mechanism for Venetian blinds that has low operating effort in raising heavy and long blinds.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a single control lift and tilt mechanism for a Venetian blind that can raise a long blind with a relatively small headrail.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a single control lift and tilt mechanism for Venetian blinds that can exert sufficient torque to ensure good closure.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a single control lift and tilt mechanism for Venetian blinds that allows close alignment of the ladder code in a fully tilted position.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a single control lift and tilt mechanism for Venetian blinds in which the total torque required for tilting should not be reacted during the raising operation of the blind. .

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a single control lift and tilt mechanism for a Venetian blind that has minimal component parts and can be easily adjusted for assembly and proper operation. It is.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawing, FIG. 1 is a vector diagram of a force F1 equal to uW in this situation, which is necessary to cause a traverse in the absence of any other movement.

FIG. 2 is a vector diagram of forces F1 and F2 and their resultant force uW, where F1 is much smaller than uW,
The force required to cause traversal when other movements are present at the same interface.

FIG. 3 is an isometric perspective view of the head rail of the Venetian blind, broken away to show internal components.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the mechanism of FIG. 3 to better illustrate the details of the raising and tilting components and features of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view, partially in section, of a conventional lift tilt mechanism at a certain point of elevation, showing the tilter, traversing rod and cradle.

FIG. 6 is a similar view of the same components in this case showing the tilter supported by the cradle in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view of the same components as FIG. 5 shown with the tilter rotated 90 degrees during the raising operation of the blind. FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view, partially in section, of another embodiment of the present invention using a spool for either cord or tape to raise the blinds.

Detailed Description of the Drawings The general configuration of the lift mechanism in the head rail is shown in FIG. The head rail 1 may be of any ordinary cross-sectional shape having a sufficient internal space for accommodating components. Preferably, the holding mechanism 3, which may be of any wide range, is mounted at the end of the head rail 1, but other arrangements are possible. Some suitable operating means are required to operate the holding mechanism 3.
In this case, although a code loop 5 is shown, any some other combination of holding mechanism and operating means may be used instead. A spline 7 is attached to the output of the holding mechanism 3. The spline 7 has a traversing rod 11
Together with the disk 9 mounted on the rod, a connection is formed between the holding mechanism 3 and the traversing rod 11 which carries an axially slidable torque. The particular splines and disk arrangements shown herein that make connections to the retaining mechanism are intended by way of example only, and other means of achieving such connections may be used without departing from the spirit and purpose of the present invention. Can be

The remaining components in the headrail are associated with the installation, control, and operation of the lift code 13 and ladder code 15. One such set or set would normally be provided for each set or set of lift and ladder codes. Descriptions of part identification, forces, and movements are made for one set of these lift and tilt components, and are intended to apply to other sets as well. In some blinds, a partial set or set of components may be used in one or more locations. For example, blinds often have three ladder codes, while lift codes have only two. This is done when two cords are sufficient to raise the blind, but the central ladder cord is still needed to properly support the slats or blind platelets. In such a case, the operation of the blind is the same as described with reference to components in an incomplete set or set.

The cradle 17 and the tilter 19 are generally arranged according to the principles of U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,630. Each side of the ladder cord 15 is mounted on one of the two arms 21 of the inclinator 19, as best seen in FIG. Lift code 13 is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat.
2, which are arranged in accordance with the principles of the specification and enter the headrail through a hold at the bottom of the headrail, pass through rollers 23 seen in FIG. 5, by clips 25, or any other suitable It terminates at a position where it is attached to the rod 11 by any means.

FIG. 5 shows a prior art combination of a traversing rod lift system in accordance with the principles of U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,012, having a helical band tilter in accordance with the principles of U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,630. ing. Traversing rod 27
Is directly supported by a cradle 29 having a bearing surface 31 shaped to receive the rod 27. The tilter 33 is supported entirely by the rod 27.

FIG. 6 shows the tilt and lift components of the present invention with the slats or platelets in a horizontal position. In this figure, the arm 21 shown in FIG. 4 but omitted for clarity in FIG. 5 will be in a horizontal plane passing through the center of the rod 35. The tilter 37 is wound around the rod 35 as in the previous embodiment, but in this case it has a bearing 39 supported on a bearing surface 41 on a cradle 43. . A flange 45 at the end of the tilter 37 forms a retaining barrier to prevent axial movement of the tilter 37 relative to the cradle 43 along the rod 35. The outer surface of the flange 45 is a U.S. Pat.
No. 012 camming surface (camming surfac
e) Angled to form 47. The angle is shown as angle A in FIG. The desired magnitude of the angle A depends on the ratio of the diameter of the lift cord 49 to the diameter of the rod. Provide space for incoming code,
In order not to get on the previous winding by this,
Sufficient movement must occur due to the cam action. When the blinds are fully lowered and most of the weight is suspended from some of the ladder cords of the blind, very little blind weight can be applied to the rod 35 and the incliner 37.
And supported on the surface between. Instead, most of the weight is supported on the bearing surface 41 between the cradle 43 and the tilter 37. This reduction in friction between the tilter and the traversing rod allows the rod to move more easily. With this improved bearing support for the tilter 37, the traversing rod can be used when the blinds are fully lowered.
To ensure that the 35 is fully returned to its starting position, much less pull on the lift cord 49 is required. FIG. 7 shows the same components as shown in FIG. 6 during the blind raising operation. Lift code 49
Wound on rod 35 contacts cam surface 47, causing rod 35 to traverse to the left side away from the cam surface. The tilter 37 is gripped on the rod 35 (gr
It is rotated sufficiently to the limit permitted by the stop 51 releasing the ip), retaining only enough grip to maintain its orientation. In this position, the arm 53 is approximately vertical and the ladder code (of which the ladder code
(Only 55 is visible) is in a fully tilted position.

The mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,012 has no tilter. The cam surface is formed as part of a cradle.
In the present invention, the cord contacts the tilter flange. It is therefore necessary to incorporate a cam surface on this flange. One of the features of the blind of the present invention is as follows.
The blinds can be raised by rotating the rod in either direction. This requires that the cam surface be on the right when the blind is raised by a counterclockwise rotation of the rod and on the left for the opposite rotation. When the blinds are being raised, the tilter rotates 90 degrees in the direction of rotation of the rod. This properly orients the cam surface 47 with respect to its winding direction of the lift cord. The camming occurs at an arc of approximately 120 degrees between the point where the cord first contacts the shaft and the top of the shaft.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the tilter 37 is horizontal, the cam surface 47 occupies the lower part of the flange 45. When the tilter rotates 90 degrees in one direction or the other, the cam surface rotates to the required orientation position.

In another embodiment of the invention, the tilter is also supported directly by the cradle, rather than by the operating rod, in which case the operating rod simply rotates rather than traverses. In a single control blind of this type, the raising or raising operation is performed by winding a tape or cord on a spool. Although there is no traversing rod in this type of blind, the reduction in operating friction is still a serious problem, for which a small improvement in the operating "feel" of the blind made to this device To achieve
Even to the extent that production tools are replaced several times, a great deal of effort has been put into it. FIG. 8 shows the components of the lifting and tilting operations for this embodiment corresponding to the components of the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The rod 57 has a tilter 59 disposed around the rod.
Having. The tilter 59 has a bearing groove 61 that is supported by and rotates on the bearing surface 63 of the cradle 65. The cradle 65 is similar to the cradle 37 of the preferred embodiment except that it has a slot 67 for guiding a cord or tape 69 on a spool 71 instead of a roller for guiding a lift code. . In this case, since there is no traversing of the rod, the spool 71 is firmly attached to the rod 57 and rotates with it. As described above, the tilter 59 must rotate with the rod 57 until it reaches its stop or stop position. Thereafter, the tilter must stay in place to maintain sufficient tilt while rod 57 continues to rotate within the tilter to raise or lower the blind. Sufficient grip of the inclinator on rod 57 to produce sufficient incline (gr
In this case, the control of friction is important in order to ensure that ip) is present. However, any additional frictional resistance between these parts merely adds to the effort to operate the blind. By transferring the supporting load from the rod 57 to the bearing surface 63 of the cradle 65, a considerable saving in operating effort is obtained. In this embodiment, since the rod does not traverse, there is no need for a cam surface and the flange 73 of the tilter 59
May have an outer surface perpendicular to the axis of the rod 57.

It will be appreciated that the objects set forth above, among others that have become clear from the preceding description, are effectively achieved. And, since certain changes may be made in the construction of the spring clutch of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, any matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings will be It is intended to be interpreted as illustrative and not restrictive.

The following claims are intended to cover all features of the genus and species concepts of the invention described herein, as well as all statements of the scope of the invention that may be said to exist between them as a matter of language. It should also be understood that this is intended.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References Special Tables Sho 61-500858 (JP, A) US Patent 4,976,630 (US, A) US Patent 2,758,644 (US, A)

Claims (14)

(57) [Claims] 1. A coupling device for a single control tilt and lift mechanism for a Venetian blind, comprising: a transverse rod rotatable in two directions along an axis; and a gripping rod and the Venetian blind. At least one rotatable multi-turn helical incline member attached to the ladder cord of, and means for at least partially loosening the incline member relative to the rod at a position corresponding to a full incline in each rotational direction; At least one lift cord attached to the rod and wrapping around and unwinding from the rod in response to rotation of the rod; and a first as the lift cord wraps around the rod. Means for applying a lateral force to the traversing rod in a direction, wherein the at least one lift cord is attached to the rod. At least one surface having a surface substantially adapted to receive the rod at a location and further having a surface for supporting the tilting member to reduce frictional drag on the rod. Means for supporting the traversing rod with the cradle of claim 1, comprising: a single control tilt and lift mechanism coupling for the Venetian blind. 2. A single controlled tilt and lift mechanism for a venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein said loosening means comprises means for limiting rotatable movement of said tilt member to said fully tilted position. Coupling device. 3. The unit for a Venetian blind according to claim 2, wherein said restricting means comprises at least one stop for loosening the grip of said tilting member on said rod in said fully tilted position. Control tilt and lift mechanism coupling device. 4. The venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein the at least one inclined member includes a central portion formed to grip the rod and two arms for receiving both ends of the ladder cord. Single control tilt and lift mechanism coupling device for. 5. The combination of claim 1, wherein the at least one tilting member is portable. 6. The inner diameter of said at least one ramp member is substantially equal to the outer diameter of said rod, whereby the weight of said Venetian blind clamps said at least one ramp member around said rod. 2. A unitary combination tilt and lift mechanism for a venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein 7. The combination device of claim 1, wherein the at least one tilting member is mounted directly on the rod without any intermediate members. . 8. The combination of claim 1, wherein the cradle includes an opening through which the ladder cord passes. 9. The unit for a Venetian blind according to claim 1, wherein said means for applying includes a cam surface against which said lift cord presses to allow said rod to traverse in said first direction. One control tilt and lift mechanism coupling device. 10. The venetian blind of claim 9, wherein said cam surface is formed such that rotation of said traversing rod to wrap said lift cord around causes said traversing rod to move laterally. Single control tilt and lift mechanism coupling device for. 11. The unitary control for a Venetian blind of claim 10, wherein the cam surface is configured such that rotation of the traversing rod winds the lift cord in a single layer on the rod. Combining device for tilting and lifting mechanism. 12. The unitary venetian blind of claim 1, wherein said at least one ramp member includes a protruding flange for maintaining an axial position of said helical member relative to said cradle member. Control tilt and lift mechanism coupling device. 13. The combination of a single control tilt and lift mechanism for a Venetian blind as claimed in claim 12, wherein said flange includes a cam surface against which said lift cord presses to allow said rod to traverse. apparatus. 14. The combination of a single control tilt and lift mechanism for a Venetian blind according to claim 13, wherein the cam surface of the flange is arranged at an angle dependent on the dimensions of the rod and the lift cord. apparatus.